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April 12 1927. 1,623,980 J. s. SMALL FILE Filed Oct. 5. 1921 l r: 6 L

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Patented Apr. l2, i927.

UNITED STATES JOHN S. SMALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FILE.

Application filed October 5, 1921.

This invention relates to files and is more particularly though notexclusively concerned with card indexes of the class in which the cardsare arranged with their identitication-receiving margins in overlappingrelationship. The invention will be best understood by reference to thefollowing description when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings of one illustrative embodiment thereof, while its scope will'bemore particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In. the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a portion of a card index exemplifyingthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail front elevation of one of the card supporting bars;

Fig. 4L is a sectional view on line 4-4 of F ig. 2; and r Fig. 5 is across-sectional view of a series of bars illustrating the mode ofdisplacing two bars toward the frame to permit the intermediate bar tobe grasped for removal.

Referring to the drawings and to the embodiment of the invention whichis selected for exempliiication, there is shown a card index comprisinga series of cards 6, having their identification-receiving marginsarranged in overlapping relationship, although it should be understoodthat the invention is not limited to an index of this particular class.Each card is held or carried by a card holder, herein comprising a bar8, hav ing card-attaching means, the latter herein con'iprising armsconveniently formed of wire presenting pintles 12 suitably hinged to thebar as by slitting and punching the latter to present projections letatlording recesscs 16 best shown in Fig. 4, in which the pintles arereceived thereby presenting l'iinges. Ehiitable provision is made toprevent the pintles from being withdrawn from their places as byproviding the bar between the projections Ll with projections18,,l1erein conveniently formed as tongues projecting laterally from thebar and bent inwardly toward each other until their ends abut, as shownin Fig. These projections may also serve to assist in preventing thebars from riding over one zinother.

The arms 10 are appropriately secured to their respective cards byproviding said arms with oppositely directed terminal portions 20received in suitable openings in the Serial No. 505,643.

card, the latter for this purpose in the pres ent example being providedwith two pairs of slits 22 through which the terminal portion of thewire is threaded as best shown in Fig. 2. The relative arrangement ofthe parts is such that the sheet can be detached from the holder only bydiminishing the distance between the card-engaging portions of itsattaching means that is to say by reducing the distance between theextremities of the terminal portions 20 to a suiiicient extent to allowone of them to be withdrawn from one of the slits 22. This is a distinctadvantage, because it prevents the cards from becoming accidentallydetached from their holders as they cannot be detached. without firstremoving the holders from the frame now to be described owing to thefact that the bar, while in the panel, cannot be flexed sulliciently topermit of detaching the card therefrom.

The frame herein selected for exemplification comprises a panel formedof a piece of sheet material 24:, such as thin sheet metal, havingguides herein ZZ-bars 26, suitably secured thereto as by soldering orwelding and presenting inwardly directed flanges 28 overlying theterminal portions of the bars 8 and affording channels 30 in which theends of the bars are received, as best shown in Fig. 2. The bars areplaced edge to edge in series and preferably have their adjacent edgescontacting throughout; they extend transversely of the guides and areslidable lengthwise with the latter.

Removal and replacement of the bars in the present embodiment isaccomplished by making them flexible so that they can be bent or bowedsufficiently to reduce their length to a distance less than the space between one overlying flange and the bottom of the channel under the otherflange. To

this end. each bar is preferably made oi? a separation of the card'andits holder is impossible yet one can be detached from the otherinstantly by simply first removing the holder from the frame.Rearrangement and reclassification of the index from time to time may beaccomplished with ease by removing any card with its holder andreinserting it in a new place, previous to which it is necessary ofcourse to provide a space at the d sired point by sliding the adjacentcards and their holders along their guideways in a well known manner.

The removal of any given holder from its place is facilitated by makingprovision to ;)ermit any two holders to be displaced inwardly in adirection transverse to their normal plane, thereby to render theintermediate holder accessible to be grasped tor removal in the mannerclearly illustrated in Fig. 5. One convenient way of rendering. thispossible is by providing the frame with adepression 32 (see Fig. 2) intowhich the holders may be displaced by simply pressing them inward y. Inthe present example the depression is siu'iply a space be tween :1 pairof ribs 3% presented by the plate 24:, thus elevz'it-ing the bars anappropriate distance above the -front surface of? the plate, it beingunderstood of course that the channels 30 are preferably of sulficientdepth from front toback to permit the bars to be normally held in theirplaces without stress. When a given bar is to be removed, the two barson either side of it are pressed inwardly by the thumb and forefinger,as illustrated in Fig. 5, and the intermediate bar is then grasped andbent in an outward direction at its central portion towithdraw its endsfrom beneath its overlying flanges. Thebar can then be detached from thesheet by bending the bar in the opposite direction as before described.

Having thus described one embodiment of the invention but withoutlimiting myself thereto, what I claim and desire by Letters Patent tosecure is:

1. In a file, the combination oi a frame, a. plurality of cards, and aplurality of card holders held by said frame, each holder comprising abar and attaching means hinged to said bar and secured to the card heldby such holder, each holder being adapted to prevent the card heldthereby from being detached from such holder with out first detachingthe latter lirom said frame.

2. In a; file, the combination oi a frame, a. plurality of cards, and aplurality of card holders held by said frame, e'ach holder comprising abar and attaching means hinged to said bar and secured to the card heldby such holder, saidholder'having pr0- vision for detaching the samefrom itscard by diminishing the distance between the card-engagingportions of said attaching means.

In a file, the combination of a frame, a

plurality of cards, and a plurality of card holders held by said frame,each holder con'iprising a. bar and attaching means hinged to said barand secured to the card held by such holder, said holder havin piovision for detaching the same from its card by bending the same todiminish the distance between the card-engaging portions ol? saidattaching means.

a. In a file, the combination of a frame, a: plurality of cards, and aplurality of card holders held by said frame, each holder comprising abar and attaching means hinged to said bar and secured to the card heldby such holder, each card being provided with openings, and itsattaching means being received in opposite outward directions into saidopenings.

5. In a file, the combination oi a frame, a plurality of cards, and aplurality ol card holders held by said frame, each holder comprising abar and attzurhiug means hinged to sai l bar and secured to the cardheld by such holder, each card being provided with openings, and itsattaching means having oppositely and outwardly directed portionsreceived in said openings.

6. In a file, the combination ot a frame, a plurality oi cards, and aplurality ot' card holders held by said frame, each holder comprising abar and attaching menus hinged to said bar and secured to the curd heldby such holder, each card being provided with openings, and itsattaching means comprising arms hinged to such bar and having outwardlydirected terminal portions received in said openings '7. In a file, thecombination o i a frame presenting inwardly directed fiai'i 'es andoppositely disposed channels behind said flanges and a pairoi ribsintermediate said channels, said ribs presenting between them adepression, a plu'ality of cards having l'ree, overlapping marginspresented at the front, and a plurality oi' card holder; coniprisingstraight bars abutting edge to edge, having their ends received in saidchannels and having intermediate portions resting on saidribs, saidflanges, said channels, said ribs, and said bars, being cooperativelyarranged to permit any given bars to be displaced inwardly in adirection transverse to their normal plane, thereby to perniit anintermediate bar to be glfl'ZtSPQti tor vemo al, said= channels beinggreater in depth from front to back than the thickness of said bars, andthe height of said ribs being such that the trout laces oi said bars areheld snugly against the rear facet-i of said flanges, said channelsproviding spaces to permit the ends of said bars to reccde reamvardlvwhen the intermediateportions oi said barb are bowed in a forwarddirection for removal.

8. In a file, the con'lbinution oi a frame presenting inwardly directedflanges, oppositely disposed channels behind said flanges, and alengthwise depression intermediate said channels, a plurality of cardshaving one set of overlapping margins presented at the front, and aplurality of card holders comprising straight bars abuttingedge to edge,having their ends received in said channels and having intermediateportions extending across said depression, said flanges, said channels,said depression and said bars, being cooperatively arranged to permitany given bars to be displaced into said depression in a directiontransverse to their normal plane, thereby to permit an intermediate barto be grasped for removal.

9. in a paper file, the combination of a frame, a series of parallelbars held by said frame, a series or sheets having overlapping margins,and means offset from said bars attaching said sheets thereto, said barsand said means having provision. to prevent removal of a given sheetfrom its bar without first removing such bar from said frame.

10. In a paper file, the combination of a frame, a series of bars heldby said frame, a series of overlapping sheets, and means interposedbetween said bars and said sheets attaching them together, said bars andsaid means having provision to prevent removal of a given sheet from itsbar without first removing such bar from said frame,

11. In a paper file, the combination of a frame, a series of bars heldby said frame, a series of sheets having overlapping margins, and meanslaterally disposed with respect to the longitudinal dimensions of saidbars for attaching said sheets thereto, .aid bars and said means havingprovision to prevent removal of a given sheet from its bar without firstremoving such bar from said frame.

11:3. In a paper file, the combination of a frame, a series of bars heldby said frame, a series of sheets having overlapping margins, and meansholding said sheets spaced from said bars, and attaching said sheetsthereto, said bars and said means having provision to prevent removal ofa given sheet from its bar without first removing such bar from saidframe.

. 3-3. In a file, the combination. of a frame, a plurality of cards, anda plurality of card holders held. by said frame, each holder comirisinga bar and attaching means hinged to said bar and secured to the cardheld by such holder, said attaching means being adapted to prevent agiven card from being detached from its holder without first detachingthe latter from said frame.

I l. In a file, the combination of a frame, a plurality of cards, and aplurality of card holders held by said frame, each holder comprising abar and attaching means hinged to said bar and secured to the card heldby such holder, said attaching means being adapted to prevent a givencard from being detached from said attaching means without firstdetaching said holder from said frame. 15. In a tile, the combination ofa frame, a plurality of cards, and a plurality of card holders held bysaid frame, each holder romprising a bar and attaching means hinged toaid bar and secured to the card held by such holder, said attachingmeans being adapted to prevent a given card from being attached to saidattachi. means without first detaching said holder from said. frame. 16.In a lile, the combination of a frame, a plurality of cards, and aplurality of card holders held by said frame, each holder comprising abar and attaching means hinged. to said bar and secured to the card heldby such holder, said attacl'iing means being adapted to prevent a givencard from being attached to or detached from said attaching meanswithout first detaching said holder from said frame.

17. In a file, the combination of a support, a series of overlappingsheets, and a series of parallel bars supported by said support, saidbars being adapted to have their normal length diminished, said sheetsand said bars having cooperative means attaching said sheets to theirrespective bars and providing for detachment of said sheets from theirrespective bars only by diminishing the effective length of said bars.

18. In a file, the combination of a support, a series of parallel barssupported by said support, each bar presenting a pair of alignedbearings extending lengthwise there of, sheet-attaching means comprisingpintles received in said bearings, and a series of sheets associatedwith said bars, respectively, and attached to said attaching means, eachsheet and its attacl'nng means having 00- operative provision to preventdetachment of such sheet from its attaching means without firstdetaching ths associated bar from said support. 19. In a file, thecoi'nbination of a support, a series of parallel bars supported by saidsupport, each bar presenting a pair of aligned bearings extendinglengthwise thereof, sheet-attaching means comprising oppositely directedpintles received in said bearings and oppositely directed terminalportions, and a series of sheets associated with said bars,respectively, and provided with openings which receive said attachingmeans, said terminal portions and said openings cooperating to preventremoval of said sheet from said attaching means without first detachingthe associated bar from said support. 20. In a file, the combination ofa support, a series of parallel bars attached to said support, said barsbeing adapted to have their normal length diminished, and a series ofsheets, said sheets and said bars having cooperative means attachingsaid sheets to their respective bars and providing for detachment ofsaid sheets from their respective bars only by diminishing the effectivelength of said bai's,'and' said support and said bars having cooperativemeans to permit detachment of said bars from said support by diminishingthe effective length of said bars. 21. In a paper file, the combinationof a support, a series of overlapping sheets presenting openings, and aseries of sheet-supporting bars attached to said support and havingprojections Whose free ends are directed toward the adjacent ends 01said bars and are received in said openings, respectively, said-barsbeing adapted to have the normaldistance between their ends changed,said support and said bars presenting cooperative means permitting saidbars to be detached from said support by changing the distance betweenthe ends of each bar.

22. A filing element comprising, in combination, a cardypresentingopenings, and a bendable card-supporting bar presenting projectionswhosejfree ends are directedto- Wards the ends of said bar and arereceived in said openings, respectively, and are re movable from saidopenings by bending said bar to reduce the distance between saidprojections.

23. A filing element comprising, in combination, a card presentingopenings, and a card-sup porting bar presenting attaching means elevatedabove the surface of said bar and received in said openings,respectively, said bar being bendable to enable the distance betweensaid card-attaching means to be reduced to Withdraw the same from saidopenings.

24. A liie comprising, in combination, a support, a series of parallelbars attached to saidsitlpport, and a series oi sheets associated withsaid bars, respectively, each sheet and its associated bar havingcooperative means attachin such sheet to its bar, and providing for thedetachment oi? such sheet from its bar only by removing such bar fromsaid support.

in a lile, the combination of a. support, a. series of parallel barsattached to said support, said bars being :nhipted lo have their normallength diminished, and a series of sheets associated with said bars,respectively, each sheet and its associated bar having cooperative meansattaching such sheet to its bar, and providing for attachment or suchsheet to its bar only by diminishing the effective length of such bar,and said support and said bars having cooperative means to permitattacln'nent oi" said bars to said support by diminishing the elfectivelength of said bars.

In testin'iony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN S. SMALL.

